Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies and all Naruto characters are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), OCC behaviors and personalities, a number of original characters and obscure canon characters to flesh out family trees, random chosen last names to give a number of characters surnames, and who knows what else.
AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Reply
August 30, 0294 AtD, 3:21 PM
Konohagakure no Sato, Hi no Kuni
It only took the three members of Inu's squad still in the ANBU Facility nine minutes to grab their gear and make their way to Kasai's office. Kojimaru and Tenzou would arrive first in twin swirls of smoke with Inu turning up right on their heels just seconds later. The squad that would be taking the mission with them turned up next and Kojimaru felt a bit better about going on an extended mission when he saw that the captain of the second squad was Kisuke. The green eyed teen felt Tenzou relax beside him the moment he too saw that his uncle would be going with them.
Taka, the final member of Inu's squad, would show up two minutes after Kisuke's squad; the only member present who had not been within the building when they had been summoned. The moment that Taka stepped inside of the room, Kasai raised a privacy barrier around the room in order to prevent anyone outside of the office from overhearing the mission details.
"The eight of you have been selected to deliver Konoha's reply to Kumogakure no Sato," Kasai began as he briefly met each of their gazes. "I won't lie; there is a high probability that I am sending you into a hostile situation and that one or more of you might die when you are forced to fight your way clear if things go pear shaped. We are fairly certain that the hot-tempered Yondaime Raikage will be greatly displeased with our response to his sanctioning an attack on one of Konoha's clans."
"Sugoi," Kojimaru muttered sarcastically under his breath as he tried to ignore the way his heart twinged in regret and fear over the knowledge that another war just might be inevitable.
"What kind of a reply will we be taking to the Raikage?" Inu asked after he shot a brief glance in Kojimaru's direction; that brief look telling the green-eyed teen that at least one person other than Tenzou had heard his mutter.
"The body of the man that attempted to kidnap the Hyuuga Heiress, the shredded remains of the false treaty that had been formed and signed with deception, a letter and a new treaty from the Hokage, and a declaration of war in the event that the Raikage refuses to sign the new treaty."
"Chikushou, I knew I should have made out a will after the first training session Inu-teichou put us through," Kojimaru groused as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Maa, maa, don't worry so much, Shark Bait; I'll protect you and your teammates with my life," Inu promised as he reached over to pat Kojimaru on the head only to miss when Kojimaru sidestepped to escape the touch.
"Kasai-sama, I would like to put in a request for a week's vacation time in two months. I just discovered that I will have a pressing appointment in Kaze no Kuni to collect a couple thousand of my favorite little friends upon our return."
"I am not giving you time off to gather another colony of fire ants," Kasai growled back in exasperation. "The ones you imported last time were hard enough to eradicate before they could firmly entrench themselves." He then picked up a sealed satchel off of his desk and tossed it to Kisuke as he grew serious once more. "Kirin-teichou, you will be in charge of the mission with Inu's squad providing support. The satchel I just gave you holds the storage scroll that contains the preserved body of the delegation leader and all of the documents you are to deliver to the Raikage bar the Declaration of War."
Kasai then lifted a red and black scroll from out of his desk drawer and tossed it over to Kisuke next as he added, "That scroll contains the Declaration of War and you are to guard it with your life until you either bring it back to Konoha so that the Hokage can destroy it or you are forced to hand it over to the Raikage if he refuses to sign the new treaty. I expect that the man will actually attempt to drag out the matter for as long as possible before he actually makes a decision in the hopes that he can turn things back in Kumo's favor."
"If, after six weeks, he is still stalling, you are to give him an ultimatum – the treaty or war. At that point, you are to give him twenty-four hours to decide before you give him the declaration and get the hell out of Kumo. If he attempts to hold any of you hostage or if he gives the order for you to be executed, you have permission to cut the mission short and get out. In the event you are forced to flee Kumo, you are to leave the Declaration of War behind and go to ground to throw off any pursuit until it is safe for you to return to Konoha."
"Understood, Kasai-sama," Kisuke replied as he tucked the scroll away on his person and tucked the satchel under his arm.
"Do any of you have any questions regarding your mission?"
"Has word been sent ahead to the Raikage to expect our arrival?" Kisuke inquired after a brief moment of consideration.
"Yes, we sent word that we were escorting the delegation's leader home along with a copy of the new treaty. And no, we did not give them advanced word that their plot to kidnap the Hyuuga Heiress had failed or that the man who attempted to kidnap her was executed per the terms of the false treaty. The rest of the delegation will be held until we know how the Raikage is going to respond."
"Last question, do any of the terms of the new treaty involve handing over any member of our party in an effort to placate the Raikage? I find it highly coincidental that the squad involved in preventing the planned kidnapping and in rounding up the traitors and spies within the village is being sent to deliver the reply to the Raikage."
Kojimaru couldn't quite stop the involuntary flinch that question drew from him as he immediately understood the implications of Kisuke's words. He would flinch a second time when Tenzou reached out to snag his wrist; the contact unexpected if not unwanted. Part of him was utterly horrified at the mere possibility that he or his brother might be nothing more than a sacrificial lamb being sent to the slaughter in order to stop the brewing war. The only thing that stopped him from snarling in rage over the implied threat to his brother was the near painful grip Tenzou had on his left wrist.
"No, we are not going to make any attempts to placate the Raikage," Kasai refuted without any hesitation and both fifteen year olds relaxed; they trusted Kasai not to lie to them. "The reason that your two squads were selected to take this mission was based upon your skill sets and previous mission records. It is also my hope that the luck that tends to follow Tora and Kuma around will increase the chances that all eight of you will return home safe and sound."
"Good; I would have hated to be branded a traitor when I inevitably refused to sacrifice a fellow Konoha shinobi."
"You would not have been alone," Kasai snorted as he briefly flicked his eyes in Kojimaru and Tenzou's direction. "Did you have any other questions?"
"No."
"Good, then you are dismissed. Good luck, gentlemen."
The moment they stepped outside of the room, Kisuke led them towards the supply room where he grabbed eight of the blank, featureless masks that were typically used by those that were only loosely associated with the Corps in order to hide their identity when the need arose. They were the same masks that Kojimaru and Tenzou had donned countless times starting with the joint Iwa and Kumo siege back at the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. Kisuke sealed the masks into a storage scroll that was tucked into his utility pouch as he signaled for the group to follow him once more.
Ten minutes later, they silently slipped out of the village using one of several hidden gates that were known and accessible only to those within the ANBU Corps. The eight of them immediately took to the trees and headed north the moment they passed through the defensive barrier that surrounded the village. They would put a good thirty miles behind them before Kisuke ordered them down out of the trees.
As soon as they touched down, Kisuke he tossed the satchel containing the scrolls they were delivering to Kumo over to Kojimaru as he ordered, "Tora, you will be responsible for protecting and transporting the Raikage's package until we reach our destination. Kuma, your job is to watch Tora's back and keep trouble from reaching him if at all possible" He then dug the extra masks back out and passed one to each member of the group. "You will need to put those on and cover your hair completely as from this point forward, we will be both nameless and faceless. That means no codenames and no nicknames; not even in sign. It also means that you are not to call on your summonses."
Kojimaru slipped the strap of the satchel over his head and left shoulder before he dug out the black hood that was part of the standard ANBU uniform. He then turned his back to the others as he pulled off his white and orange tiger mask so he could pull up the cloth face mask that he usually kept neatly tucked into the neck of his shirt and pull the hood on over his hair. He then stuck the blank mask to his face with a small thread of chakra before he sealed his ANBU mask into the storage seal that had been sewn onto the inside flap of his utility pouch for the sole purpose of storing his mask when he wasn't wearing it.
That done, he turned back around to find that everyone else had also switched out their masks and covered their hair. Kisuke inspected each of them briefly before he gave them the order to move out once more. As the most inexperienced members in the group (and the youngest) Kojimaru and Tenzou quickly found themselves maneuvered into the middle of the formation as Inu moved up to take point while Taka dropped to take the rear; leaving the members of Kisuke's squad to split up and take the sides. Most rookies might have complained over being treated in such a way but both boys were far too used to ending up in such a position to take offense.
It would take the eight of them five days to reach Kumogakure as they had chosen to cut through Yu no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni rather than attempt to shave time off of their journey by cutting across the sea. They had also been forced to cut their speed the moment they passed into Kaminari no Kuni in order to watch for potential ambushes.
From the moment they crossed into Kaminari no Kuni, Kojimaru felt on edge with his anxiety tripling as soon as they entered the barren mountains that surrounded Kumo. It wasn't worry over the mission that was unsettling him though; it was the near complete absence of vegetation. Even the vast desert that was Kaze no Kuni had quite a bit of plant life scattered throughout the sand dunes that spanned nearly the entire country. The lack of any plant life bar a few scraggly weeds made him feel disconnected from the world and it took all of his self control not to seed the mountains with trees as they made their way to the hidden village tucked into the dead mountains.
On the evening before they expected to reach their destination, Kisuke had Kojimaru and Tenzou prepare a hidden base camp where the group could rendezvous in the event that they had to flee the village in a hurry. The camp had been carved right out of the rocky cliffs of the mountains that surrounded Kumo and protected with a barrier courtesy of Inu. That night, the eight of them would sit down and go over their plans once last time before they entered Kumo. When they left the base around midnight, a pair of Moku Bunshin (one each from Kojimaru and Tenzou) would be left behind to guard the camp from discovery by any Kumo patrols that moved through the area.
The instant they presented themselves to the guards at the village's entrance the next day, Kojimaru locked away his personal discomfort to focus on their mission as he kept one hand securely on the strap of the satchel he still carried. The guards took their time checking their group in before they assigned a pair of Chuunin to lead them to the Foreign Quarters where all visitors to the village were housed in shinobi run hotels where they would be closely watched while word was sent to the Raikage of their arrival.
As they were led through the maze of towering cliffs and buildings, Kojimaru discreetly scattered several of his Mokuton splinters along the streets while Tenzou occasionally dropped one of his tracking seeds so they would be able to find their way out without a guide and make it easier to fight their way out, if they had to. At the same time, he let his eyes dart about in order to take in the faces and clothes of the people that they passed on the street. In no time at all, they were shown into the lobby of an elegant hotel that had been built into one of the cliffs where they were assigned a single suite of rooms that they would occupy for the duration of their stay in Kumo.
The moment that they were left alone, Kisuke gave the signal to start putting their plans into motion.
Kojimaru silently passed the satchel holding the Raikage's package over to Kisuke before he pulled a storage scroll out of his utility pouch and released the Doton Bunshin he'd stored in the seal the previous night. Beside him, Tenzou, Inu, and Taka were also releasing Doton Bunshin from storage scrolls. As soon as all four clones had been released, Kojimaru took hold of Inu's arm while Tenzou grabbed Taka and the four of them merged into the wood paneling that covered all of the floors in the hotel – leaving the clones behind to take their place so their absence would not be noticed.
Tenzou then led their brief jaunt through the floors as the younger teen used his connection to the wood to lead them to an empty room on the opposite side of the hotel from the room they'd been given. The two teens pulled their teammates free of the wood a moment later and silently offered the pair a bottle of mint water; it was always disorienting and disconcerting for those without the Mokuton to travel through the wood and the first time was always the worst. It would take the two older men a full five minutes to recover from the shock of being merged with the floor (their bodies had briefly been one with the floor rather than just passing through it).
"Proceed with the plan," Inu instructed as he turned to face Kojimaru once the disorientation had passed.
Kojimaru nodded and pulled out a leaf from his pouch (the teen always carried a handful with him whenever he went on a mission) as he moved closer to Tenzou. Once beside his brother, Kojimaru pressed the leaf to the blank mask covering his brother's face and closed his eyes as he brought his free hand up to form half the ram seal. He briefly concentrated on the faces and clothing that he'd studied while traveling through the village and fixed a single image in his mind before he uttered a soft but firm, "Mokuton: Kamen no Jutsu."
Once the jutsu was activated with a minute pulse of chakra, the leaf under Kojimaru's hand grew larger and molded itself to Tenzou's body from head to foot. The moment it had completely encased his brother, the leaf appeared to crack and crumble before it turned to smoke and revealed the newly disguised Tenzou. Instead of a mask wearing teen, there was now a blond haired, gray-eyed teen with mocha colored skin wearing the typical clothes worn by Kumo civilians. Inu let out a soft whistle of appreciation as he got up and circled Tenzou while poking and prodding the disguise.
"Remarkable, it's completely seamless. How long will the disguise hold?"
"It will stay until I release it or until it takes about forty-five percent damage; which is how much damage it takes to compromise the integrity of the jutsu," Kojimaru replied as he pulled out another leaf and approached Taka to do his disguise next; transforming the older man into a merchant from Iwa.
"Can it be dispelled like a normal henge?"
"No; the normal henge can be dispelled by disrupting the person's chakra in order to make the illusion waver and fall but because the chakra in the Kamen no Jutsu is self contained, there is no way to disrupt it bar damaging the thin layer of material that covers the entire body. Are you ready for me to do yours now?"
"Hai."
If Inu had seen the smirk that crossed Kojimaru's face in that moment, he might have had second thoughts about allowing the younger teen to create his disguise. As it was, the blank mask that Kojimaru was wearing hid the evil smirk that the green eyed teen was wearing and as a result, Inu was soon wearing the visage of a female merchant from Iwa; complete with boobs. The disguised Jounin didn't catch on to the unwanted additions to his disguise until Taka couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.
"This is not going to work," Inu deadpanned as he reached down to grab the offending appendages (thinking they were just illusionary), only to be shocked when they felt as solid as the rest of his body. "Get them off."
"Sorry, no can do. Once a disguise has been set I can't alter it," Kojimaru half lied; he could change it but it would actually require him to cancel the jutsu and create a new disguise and he wasn't going to waste the chakra. "It would also just be a waste of chakra for me to remove the jutsu just to replace it a second later and I still have to create my own disguise."
"You did this on purpose."
"Yep, sure did. Besides, you and I both know that the other merchants are far more likely to trust a loving couple than they would a couple of unfamiliar men."
Inu growled and crossed his arms over his chest, only to quickly drop his arms when his new assets got in the way. A snicker escaped Kojimaru as he used the jutsu on himself; which caused a mass of leaves to sprout from the top of his head before they poured down over his body like molasses, changing his form as they went. When it was finished, he looked exactly like Tenzou with the exception of his eyes; which were still green. For some reason, Kojimaru could never change the color of his eyes using any technique.
In fact, the only way that he could change the color of his eyes was through the use of seals (like the ones that Akimichi Torifu had designed for him eleven years earlier). Otherwise, the chakra just slid right off of his eyes in the same way that a genjutsu slid off of him. Those who knew about the phenomenon figured that it was just another facet of his only inborn and unnamed Kekkei Genkai that gave him his accelerated healing rate. Either way, it didn't really bother Kojimaru all that much but it was a huge pain when it came to disguises because his eyes were his most memorable feature. A pair of tinted goggles easily solved that issue now.
"I notice you didn't give you or your twin boobs," Inu pointed out in an aggravated tone.
"Well, yeah; it would not be safe for girls of our age to run around without a proper chaperon and my brother and I will be the ones that are out wandering the streets while the two of you sit in the hotel's lounge and get cozy with the other visiting merchants."
"What a troublesome little gaki you are turning out to be."
"Thank you for the compliment, obachan."
Inu growled but ignored the playful retort in favor of focusing on their mission once more, "Do the two of you know what to do?"
"Hai."
"Good. We'll meet you back here in this room in exactly one week unless this room is occupied by then and in that case we'll be in one of the neighboring rooms. Keep your eyes and ears open and don't take any fool risks. If anything goes wrong, get out and wait for us at the base camp as planned."
"Wakatta," both fifteen year olds replied in unison before they sank back into the floor so they could make their way out of the hotel without being noticed by any of the shinobi standing guard.
It would take them about ten minutes to navigate through the building before they found a point at which they could transition from the wood floors to the dirt and stone of the cliff that surrounded the back half of the hotel (most buildings within Kumo had been partially carved out of the mountain due to the limited building space available). After that, it was only another two minutes before they were once again standing out in the open. They took a moment to catch their bearings in the unfamiliar village (this being their first time in Kumogakure) before they followed their trail of splinters and seeds until they reached the end of the Foreign Quarter.
At that point they split off from their hidden trail in order to explore the village. This time they didn't bother to set down more splinters or seeds; leaving their original trail as a beacon and guide so that they wouldn't get themselves lost by laying down a confusing number of crisscrossing trails through the maze of canyons and streets. They wandered for several hours before they stumbled upon an open air market and the two of them gladly dug out some of the money they always carried on them to purchase a couple of pork buns and fried squid from a couple of street vendors.
They would spend the rest of the day in the market, listening to the rampant gossip that was being bandied back and forth between the buyers and sellers. A few of the vendors would shoo them off if they hung about for too long, the men and women leery of potential theft, but they never went very far and they took care not to appear too suspicious. It helped that they occasionally purchased snacks or treats from the scattered stalls; something that actually eased the minds of the vendors (since they turned out to be paying customers) and made it easier for them to ignore the two boys.
Sunset would signal the end of the day and by the time the last of the sun's light disappeared behind the mountains, the market had shut down and the square was soon emptied of all life bar the two undercover shinobi after the crowds gone home or ventured into one of the other districts in search of food or entertainment. By silent agreement, the two of them slipped away into the night in search of an out of the way place to spend the night.
They ended up in a little used alley between two apartment buildings that had been built fairly close together on the same stretch of rocks. To avoid trouble seeking them during the night, they merged themselves into the cliff wall at the back of the alley and made a small pocket cave deep within the rock and dirt where they could sleep undisturbed without fear of discovery. The newly made cave would also double as a bolt hole in the event that things went to hell in a hand basket at some point during the negotiations. Two other such caves would be set up in different parts of the village for much of the same reason and the two of them would never use the same hide out two nights in a row to avoid getting noticed.
Kojimaru would be the first to wake in the morning and the first thing he did was make a pot of tea and breakfast while he waited for Tenzou to wake up. When the tea was finished, he took his time to savor his first cup of tea since the morning of the twentieth, when Kasai had called them in to give them their mission. As much as he hated going without his tea, he knew better than to waste time on trivialities while on a mission; and as blasphemous as he thought it was to refer to tea as trivial, he knew that it was when it came to missions.
That's not to say he never drank tea while on missions; he did, when the missions allowed for him to indulge. Their current mission was not one of those missions where it was safe to indulge in his favorite past time though. It was also not the place to openly advertise the one habit that could identify him to anyone that paid attention to him and was familiar with his habits outside of the mask. The only reason he was risking it that morning was because he knew there was no one there to see him aside from his brother and he needed to settle his nerves.
"That smells heavenly," Tenzou stated as he crawled out of his sleeping bag.
"That is because tea is the drink of the gods."
"I was referring to the food," Tenzou teasingly retorted with a smirk.
"Heathen," Kojimaru playfully spat back as he passed his brother a plate and a cup of tea.
"Whatever, at least I'm not the one that's looking to be killed once we get home. I still can't believe that you turned our teichou into a woman."
"I owed him a prank and while I don't normally play pranks on a mission, the opportunity was just too good to pass up and you know it will be an effective disguise."
"True, which is probably the only reason why he didn't make a bigger fuss or kill you right there."
Kojimaru snickered even as he nodded in agreement. He then took another sip of his tea before he asked, "So, shall we go back to the market again today or should we snoop around a bit and see if we can't find any kids to blend in and make friends with?"
"We should try and make some friends so we don't stand out as much. Have you given any thought to what we can use as a back story?"
"Hmm, how about a pair of brothers from a small farm that were sent to Kumo to purchase supplies. This is, of course, our first time in the village as we are finally old enough to be trusted on our own. We'll be in town for a week so that we can rest and get a good look around before we have to make our purchases and leave. That would give us a reason to be hanging about in the market and why we feel a need to explore the village."
"That works for me; why didn't our father come with us though?"
"Well, he could either be elderly or he could really busy with the harvest due to the time of year, I suppose."
"What if we change the story a bit instead? We can still be farm boys but we were sent to the village in order to get medicine for our father while our mother stayed behind to nurse our father through his illness."
"Shouldn't we be in a hurry to get back home then?"
"Chikushou, didn't think about that. Elderly father it is then. Why are we being allowed so much time away from home during the harvest though?"
"Because we were constantly getting underfoot and our older brothers wanted to get us out of the way while they helped father to harvest the crops," Kojimaru offered after a moment.
"That might work. Where is our mother?"
"Died in childbirth the day we were born due to her advanced age and the fact that she was carrying both of us. What should we use for names?"
"Yonmaru and Gomaru; our brother's names are Ichimaru, Nimaru, and Sanmaru – our parents were very unimaginative when it came to naming us. You should be the older twin; since it will be easier for us to remember since you are just barely older than me anyway."
"That should work. What kind of supplies are we looking to purchase? Clothes? Tools? Food stuffs that are unavailable on the farm?"
"A couple bolts of heavy duty fabric, buttons, and sturdy shoes several sizes larger than ours. We should also pick up sugar, a large bag of rice, a half pound of tobacco, and an imported tea," Tenzou suggested after he finished the last of his breakfast. "Each one of those items would be rather difficult to get on a real farm since there are no rice fields here in Kaminari no Kuni; especially in the mountains surrounding Kumo. What kind of farm will our father own?"
"Red Bean farm or we could go the other way and have a sheep or goat farm."
"Bean Farm; they grow rather well in the mountain regions and we both know more about gardening than we do about raising a flock of sheep or a herd of goats."
"That works for me. Anything else we might have missed?"
"No, I don't think so, Yonmaru."
"Shall we go explore the village some more then, Gomaru?"
"Might as well," Tenzou replied as he helped Kojimaru to clean up the small mess that had been made in their hidden refuge.
The two of them then slipped into the walls of the cliff once more where Tenzou spent several minutes monitoring nearby chakra signatures before he indicated that it was safe for them to step out of the wall. It wasn't long before they were both once more traveling through the village looking for a large group of children to make contact with while appearing to simply be wandering aimlessly.
Meanwhile, Kisuke's team had made first contact with the Raikage and weathered through the initial storm of the Raikage's fury while Inu and Taka collected and traded rumors with the other merchants that were currently residing in another hotel just a few streets away from the one they had been checked into. The four clones that were taking Squad Inu's place calmly lounged about their room and made idle but meaningless conversation to entertain and distract their hidden guards.
Translations: Japanese to English
Doton Bunshin – earth/dirt clone
Inu – dog
Kaminari no Kuni – Lightning Country
Kaze no Kuni – Wind Country
Kirin – giraffe
Kuma – bear
Maa, maa – now, now/there, there or calm down (a phrase used to placate someone)
Moku Bunshin – wood clone
Mokuton; Kamen no Jutsu – Wood Disguise Technique (kamen – meaning mask/disguise)
Same no Kouji – Shark Bait (Kojimaru's nickname)
Shimo no Kuni – Frost Country
Sugoi – wonderful/wow/awesome or dreadful/terrible (depending on how it is said)
Teichou – captain
Taka – hawk
Tora – tiger
Wakatta – I understand
Yu no Kuni – Hot Springs Country
Notes:
Fake names – okay, I was really lazy with the aliases that Kojimaru and Tenzou are using and the ones I chose were not meant to be insulting. Basically, I just took numbers one through five and added maru to them; Ichi-maru (one), Ni-maru (two), San-maru (three), Yon-maru (four), and Go-maru (five). It was also a way for the two of them to make a joke out of the way they had once been called nothing but numbers by Orochimaru in order to make it less painful the next time that they are assigned a number to identify them on a temporary basis (like when they took the ANBU entrance exam).
AN: You know… I'm beginning to sense a pattern with my treatment of Kakashi in all of the Naruto crossovers that I write. He's exceptionally easy to pick on a tease. And the funny thing is that I really like Kakashi. Though, I am disappointed that he didn't really make an effort to teach Naruto much of anything prior to the time skip. In fact, he was a bit of a prick in the beginning. I much prefer Kakashi's attitude post time skip. ~ Jenn
11-15-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.